


The Case of the Missing Santa

by Willowbrooke



Category: Lewis (TV)
Genre: Case Fic, Community: lewis_challenge, Gen, Lewis Secret Santa 2014, Seasonal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-06
Updated: 2015-01-06
Packaged: 2018-03-06 10:56:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3131942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Willowbrooke/pseuds/Willowbrooke
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>"You have to admit, it's a pretty far-fetched story." That was Hathaway, gesturing with the cigarette in his hand, sounding more than a bit sceptical. "Three or four young kids overpowering Santa and throwing him into the back of a van?"</i>  A week before Christmas, James, Lizzie and Robbie are scrambling to solve an unusual case.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Case of the Missing Santa

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Small_Hobbit](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Small_Hobbit/gifts).



> Written for Small_Hobbit for the Lewis-Challenge Secret Santa 2014 on LJ. Thank you to lamardeuse for the always helpful and thorough beta reads. Thanks also to asparagusmama for help with Oxford details and to loves_books for help with a specific UK police procedure question. Some details of the case have been rewritten since this was posted on LJ to correct issues with professional ethics. Huge thanks to divingforstones for the patient and detailed help in making those corrections.

As Lizzie passed the kebab place on the return trip of her coffee run, the familiar strains of a Christmas classic drifted out to her as someone opened the door of the shop. It struck her that 'Santa Claus is Coming to Town' was not only a decidedly annoying song, it was also a bit ironic today, given that they were investigating the disappearance of one Mr. Claus.

She glanced up the street to where her boss and DI Lewis were leaning against Lewis's car, apparently reviewing the most recent witness statement she had obtained. Their heads were close over her iPad and they were deep into a discussion. Not heated, it rarely was with them, but they were obviously disagreeing about something.

As she got closer, she heard Lewis. "James, I agree this bloke's dodgy, but what else have we got to go on?"

"Yes, but you have to admit, it's a pretty far-fetched story." That was Hathaway, gesturing with the cigarette in his hand, sounding more than a bit sceptical. "Three or four young kids overpowering Santa and throwing him into the back of a van?"

She smiled as she watched them. They were totally focused and completely in tune with each other. And this seemed to be how they worked best; tossing ideas back and forth until something clicked. She sometimes felt a bit like a third wheel around them, as they had operated as a team for so long. They often communicated with looks and nods, leaving her completely in the dark. 

It was true that she had, in the beginning, been less than thrilled with her assignment to Inspector Hathaway. He was not only a newly qualified inspector, but Churchill could have easily been speaking of him when he referred to 'a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.' She'd had no idea how to relate to him and in those first weeks, he hadn't trusted her to do much more than carry a report from one department to another.

And then Lewis had showed up and not only had he been lovely and supportive of her, but he had somehow managed to convince Hathaway that he needed to trust Lizzie to do her job and to take advantage of the skills she had to offer. Lewis brought out something in her boss that no one else could.

It hadn't been smooth sailing all the way, of course, but they were finding their rhythm and she had long since given up the idea of wanting a transfer. Hathaway was a brilliant detective and she knew that there was much she could learn from him. And now, even on the cases when Lewis wasn't involved, he was trusting her more and relying on her to do what she had been trained to do.

And though she would never admit it to anyone, she had developed quite a fondness for her 'bosses.' She looked forward to spending her days with them, helping to make the world a better place, cliché though that was.

"Right," Lizzie said, changing mental gears as she reached them. She pulled a cup out of the cardboard holder and handed it to her boss. "Black, one sugar," she recited.

"Cheers." Hathaway glanced up at her briefly as he took the warm cup from her hand. Anyone watching might have interpreted that look to be one of indifference or even disdain, but she hadn't missed the hint of a smile and had recognised the briefly visible expression of gratitude in his eyes. He was certainly not the easiest person to get to know, but she was slowly learning how to read him. 

"And milk, no sugar, for you, sir." She smiled as she handed the second cup to Lewis.

"Ah, ta, Lizzie." Lewis, on the other hand, was very much a 'what you see is what you get' kind of person. He flashed a warm, return smile at her.

She pulled her own coffee out and turned to bin the holder. As she looked back, she caught Hathaway glance at Lewis's cup, then focus a questioning look on Lewis's face, as though searching for a clue. A bit of a lopsided smirk appeared on Hathaway's face before he looked back down at his own cup and took a drag from his cigarette. 

Lewis, seemingly always aware of Hathaway, clearly knew he was being studied, and why, though he hadn't so much as glanced in Hathaway's direction. These two were bloody good at silent communication. 

"What?" Lewis looked annoyed now.

"Nothing." The smirk broadened. "I didn't say a word." 

Lewis's growing irritation showed in his voice. "Look, I know you're thinking this is Laura's doing, but just because I'm cutting back on sugar doesn't mean I'm under her thumb."

"Of course not." The smirk had turned to a full-on grin now. "The sugar industry will no doubt be feeling the pinch, though." 

Here we go again, she thought. Lizzie had once referred to them as the Chuckle Brothers, but the Bickersons worked equally well. Like an old married couple they were, but underneath the bickering was a deep and genuine affection. They were certainly closer than any team she'd ever known.

"Ha, bloody ha." Lewis looked down, hesitating a bit before he continued. "If you must know, it was the doctor who convinced me, not Laura. Says me blood sugar's up a bit. Nothing serious, mind, but now's the time to deal with it."

That wiped the grin right off Hathaway's face. "Really? God, Robbie, why didn't you tell me?"

"Nothin' to tell, is there? I'm just watching what I eat is all. It's fine, James. Check with Laura if you want." Lewis gave Hathaway a reassuring look.

"Right. Look, I'm sorry for..."

"Aw, don't be daft. You're all right. I missed those smartarse comments of yours when you were away on your walk and I was cursing that bloody canoe." He smiled as he put a hand on Hathaway's arm. "Okay?" 

Hathaway nodded, and, suddenly, there was _that_ look between them. She had seen it only a couple of times before, but really, how could it be read as anything other than - desire or, maybe, longing? It was certainly puzzling, but maybe they didn't even understand it themselves. Honestly, if Lewis hadn't been involved with Dr. Hobson, she'd wonder what these two were getting up to outside work. 

"Lizzie?" She was startled out of her reverie by Lewis's voice. Both men were now staring at her. God, how long had she been standing there gawping?

"Wool gathering?" That was Hathaway, smirk back on his face.

"Sorry, sir." She had to think fast. "I was thinking that we should get back to the station. I got a call while I was at the coffee shop letting me know that they've located CCTV footage of the alley behind the community centre where 'Santa' disappeared. Constable Wilkins is reviewing it now."

 

****

 

Back at the station, Hathaway assembled a small group of officers, Chief Superintendent Innocent among them. "Right," he began, "we don't have much solid information yet, but Sergeant Maddox, here, will brief you on what we do know. Sergeant?"

Lizzie hadn't expected him to turn the meeting over to her, especially with Innocent there, but she was chuffed that he had and she wasn't about to let him down. "Yes, sir." Innocent gave her an encouraging smile as she quickly pulled her notes out and took a deep breath before she began. 

"We received a 999 call this morning at 11:25 a.m. from a Michael Davidson. Mr. Davidson had been hired to re-paint the window frames on the office building directly behind the East Oxford Community Centre, on Union St. just off the Cowley Rd. He reported that he had just seen 'Santa' being abducted from the alley behind the centre.

She heard a couple of muffled chuckles. She noted that Innocent's eyes immediately focused on the area the sound had come from, and she pitied whoever it was who was on the receiving end of that less than happy glare. 

She refocused on her notes and continued. "A routine background check on Mr. Davidson turned up a few alcohol related contacts with police, but he appeared sober this morning when we interviewed him and he was very clear about what he had seen. He said that he saw a white van pull into the alley and park behind the building just before 11 a.m. A couple of boys, maybe early teens, got out of the van and went into the building.

"Davidson said that about fifteen minutes later, the boys came out the back door of the building with 'Santa' and another boy. They all walked to the back of the van. The doors of the van were already open and he thought he saw someone else in the back of the van. He said that it was hard to see clearly from where he was on his ladder, but it looked like the boys then shoved Santa into the van. They climbed in after him, and the van sped off. 

"The director of the East Oxford Community Centre confirms that there was a Christmas party there this morning and 'Santa' was in attendance. The Santa in question is Mr. Alan Buckley, age 55. He's a children's dentist, and he also volunteers his time with various children's organisations around Oxford. When we contacted his wife, Louise, one of the things she told us is that at this time of year, Mr. Buckley frequently plays Santa Claus at community centres and homeless shelters all over the city.

She confirmed that she has not heard from him since he left for the centre shortly after 8 a.m. this morning. Calls she made to his mobile, at our request, went unanswered and his phone was later found in the pocket of his coat in a locker at the community centre.

"Retracing his steps, we know that Mr. Buckley arrived at the centre just after 8:30 a.m. He spoke with the director briefly before the festivities began at 9 a.m. No one saw him leave the room over the next couple of hours. 

"He was seen heading down the hallway towards the cloakroom about ten minutes after 11 a.m. He apparently never made it there as one person we spoke with had been in the cloakroom at that time and he never saw Mr. Buckley. The back door to the building is at the end of that hallway.

"So far, we've spoken with most of the adults in attendance this morning. No one noticed anything out of the ordinary during the time that Mr. Buckley was there. No one looking out of place or acting strangely. 

"We've also located CCTV footage from a camera in the alley and that's being reviewed now."

Lizzie had noticed Constable Wilkins enter the room a few minutes earlier and as she finished, she nodded towards him. He nodded back and spoke up, addressing his comment to Hathaway. "Sir, I've found something on the CCTV footage."

 

****

 

The video appeared to confirm what Michael Davidson had told them. At about 10:50 a.m., a white van pulled up and parked directly behind the centre. Two boys, young teens, got out of the van and walked to the back door of the centre. Someone on the inside opened the door to let them in. The back doors of the van opened and the driver, who didn't look much older than 17 or 18, got out and walked around to the back. He spoke to someone inside for a moment and paced nervously for a bit before getting back into the vehicle. 

"Nothing for about 20 minutes," Wilkins said as he advanced the video, "and then, this."

The three of them watched as the back door opened again and now three boys came out with a man in a Santa suit. As they arrived at the back of the van, it looked as though whoever was in the back of the van reached out and grabbed Mr. Buckley, while the boys with him shoved him into the van. They climbed in behind him and shut the doors.

"Hang on," Lewis exclaimed. "I think I know one of those lads. Go back." Lewis leaned forward as Wilkins slowly rewound the video. "There," he said, as he pointed to the screen. "Zoom in on his face." Wilkins moved to comply and when the image of the boy's face enlarged, Lewis got excited. "Aye, I knew it. That's Josh Martin. He's on the football team I help coach. Bloody hell."

"Trouble, is he?" Hathaway asked, as the video resumed and they watched until the van pulled out of sight of the camera at 11:20 a.m.

"No, that's just it. He's a good kid. He sometimes hangs around after practice to talk. Lizzie, get us an address and the records on Josh from his school and the Leys Youth Football Club. And, Wilkins, run that plate and see what you can come up with on the identity of the other boys. Doesn't make any sense he'd be involved in something like this. And why the bloody hell didn't Mr. Buckley even try to get away from them?"

****

An hour later, they knew much more about Josh Martin. Lizzie had run a juvenile records check on Josh that had turned up some information. "Josh is thirteen now. He had a couple of minor offences two years ago," Lizzie read through the list. "Petty theft, criminal damage. Nothing violent. No drug-related charges. Hasn't had anything since then." 

"Aye, I think he was hanging with the wrong kids for a time, before he started coming to the club," Lewis interjected. "Single mum, and she works the evening shift at the Mini plant, I think. Josh told me that he takes care of his little sister a couple of evenings a week. When I asked about that, he said there was a neighbour who checked in on them."

Lizzie focused on her computer screen as she related the pertinent information from the other records she'd reviewed. "School records show that Josh had a bit of an absentee issue last year. At the time, Mrs. Martin was warned that action could be taken against her. She'd told the school that money was tight and when opportunities came up to pick up extra shifts during the day, sometimes Josh was her only option for being at home with her young daughter. She was given information on child care options and put in touch with social services. Attendance hasn't been a problem since then. 

"They've been under review by Social Services on a scheduled basis since then," Lizzie continued. "Josh's mum has expressed concern that her daughter, Aimee, who is three now, is behind in her speech development. The child's had some initial evaluation and is on the waiting list for further child developmental assessment. No mention anywhere of Josh's father." She turned from the screen and looked at her boss. "There's really nothing here that's any more than what a lot of families deal with. It's not a perfect situation, but they seem to be getting on." 

Hathaway had maintained a quiet, attentive attitude as Lizzie had briefed them. When she'd finished, he leaned back in his chair and thoughtfully tapped his pen on the stack of papers on his desk. "Robbie, based on what you know of Josh, do you think he's capable of violence or of harming Mr. Buckley?"

Lewis answered without hesitation. "No. No, I can't see him hurting anyone, or being involved with anyone who would. Buckley had no money on him. His wallet was found in his locker along with his phone, so they weren't after those things. Whatever the motive, it wasn't robbery."

"All right," Hathaway responded, "But why Buckley? And why this morning when he was dressed as Santa?"

"Reckon it's time we paid Josh a visit and ask him, don't you?"

 

****

 

Lewis took the lead as they arrived at the Martins' door. He knocked loudly and shouted, "Mrs. Martin? Josh? Detective Inspector Lewis, Oxfordshire Police. Josh, it's Coach Lewis." He listened for a moment before continuing. "We know where you were this morning, son, and we need to speak with you. Open the door please."

They finally heard some noise from the other side of the door just before it opened. Josh stood there with his head down and as they looked beyond him, they saw Alan Buckley, still in his Santa suit, with a young girl in his arms.

"Hello, Josh," Lewis said gently. His eyes moved to the man at the end of the hallway. "Are you all right, Mr. Buckley?"

"Yes, I'm fine. No harm done."

"Right." Hathaway nodded at Lizzie, who moved to take the child from Mr. Buckley.

"Hello, Aimee. My name's Lizzie." She pulled her iPad out and showed it to the girl. "I've got some games on here you might like. Shall we find a quiet place to sit?" 

She slowly reached out to take the girl from Mr. Buckley, but Aimee shook her head violently and clung to 'Santa.'

"All right." That was Hathaway. "She'll have to stay with us then. Josh, I'm Detective Inspector Hathaway. We need to ask you some questions. Is your mum home?"

Josh shook his head and said softly, "She's working an extra shift at the plant."

Hathaway nodded and Josh led the way to the sitting room. Hathaway held Lizzie back briefly. "Get uniform here to take Mr. Buckley home and make sure someone calls his wife." He headed towards the sitting room, but turned back and added, "And find someone to stay here until Josh's mother gets home."

"Yes, sir." Lizzie made the call quickly before joining the others.

Once they were all seated, Hathaway began the questions. "Josh, we know that you and some other boys forced Mr. Buckley, here, to come with you this morning. Can you tell us about that?"

Josh looked scared and began to fidget. He bit his lip as he looked at the floor, but remained silent. Lewis spoke to him then. His voice, as always, calm and kind. "It's all right, Josh. We just need you to tell us the truth. Take a breath. That's it. Now, tell us what happened."

Josh glanced at Lewis before looking back down. "My sister doesn't talk much and my mum's been worried about it. She took Aimee to see someone and they said we're supposed to talk to her as much as possible and read and sing to her. We're supposed to pay attention to anything that she gets really excited about and encourage her to tell us about it. 

"Aimee loves Christmas, and especially Santa Claus. I've told her all about Santa and the other day, she even asked me where he lived. I thought that if she could meet Santa, she might want to talk to him. My mum works most evenings and I'm not supposed to take Aimee out by myself, so I decided that I needed to find a way to bring Santa here."

At this point, Aimee hopped off Santa's lap and ran to Josh. He picked her up and held her close. Aimee smiled and looked up at him before pointing at Mr. Buckley. "Santa came!"

"That's right, Aim. He came to see you." "He turned back to Lewis, and continued. "I didn't know who to ask and didn't think anyone would be willing to come. I was talking to my friend, Ke...." He stopped. "Sorry, I don't want to get him in trouble."

"That's all right," Hathaway said, "you don't have to tell us his name right now. What did you two talk about?"

"He said that lots of community centres have Christmas parties where Santa shows up and he came up with the idea of - well, 'bringing' Santa to Aimee. We checked around and saw that the East Oxford Centre was having their party this morning, which was perfect as Mum was working an extra shift."

At this point Lewis interrupted with a question Lizzie also wanted an answer to. "Josh, did your mum leave the two of you here alone all day?"

He shook his head. "No, she'd never do that. There's a uni student, Linda Murray, who was supposed to stay with us. Mum usually works the evening shift during the week and then she's home all weekend, but she picked up an extra shift today. Linda had an exam first thing this morning, so she was going to be a bit late. Mum asked me to text her when Linda got here.

"So why isn't Linda here?" That was Hathaway.

Josh looked even more uncomfortable and hesitated before he answered, looking at Lewis again. "Because I called her last night and told her that Mum had asked me to call since she was working. I told her that Mum wasn't going to be working the extra shift after all and that she didn't need to come. I wanted her to believe me, so I told her that, if she wanted, I'd have Mum call her to confirm when she got off work, but I think she was glad she didn't have to come so she said she'd see us next time."

Lewis nodded. "All right, Josh. Finish telling us about this morning." 

"We plotted it all out and I asked one of my friends, who was too scared to come with us, to stay with Aimee. Another friend went to the party and he texted us when it was almost over.

"My friend's brother has a van that we sort of...borrowed. We went inside and waited for Mr. Buckley to come down the hall. When he came, I made up a story about one of our friends being hurt and needing some help. He came outside with us and when we got to the back of the van I told him that we weren't going to hurt him, that I just needed his help.

"I'm not really sure how we got him into the van, but once we were moving, I told him about Aimee and asked if he would help us. He said he would. I don't want my friends to get in trouble. They were just trying to help me." 

He stopped briefly, looking down at Aimee, smiling. "But it was worth it. She actually talked to him, didn't you Aimee? He asked her lots of questions, and she answered some of them. She even told him what she wants for Christmas."

As Lizzie listened to Josh, it occurred to her that Aimee was lucky to have such a caring older brother. What he did was wrong, no question, but his heart had been in the right place. She was dead sorry that this one mistake could be a big one for him. She knew that it was really up to her bosses what the repercussions of this would be for Josh. She glanced at Hathaway, whose face was studiously blank. Lewis's expression was also hard to read. Years of experience, she reckoned, because she knew that neither of them would be as unaffected by Josh's story as they appeared to be.

"Inspector?" Mr. Buckley was looking at Hathaway. "Can I say something here?" Hathaway gave the man an inscrutable look and nodded.

"As they were shoving me into the van, Josh made it clear that they weren't going to hurt me. He said that he just needed my help. I didn't struggle, very honestly, because I believed him.

"Josh was the only boy who spoke. He apologised several times and he told me about Aimee. They were clearly all scared and in over their heads, so I just tried to talk to them, keep them calm, and find out what it was they wanted from me.

"When we got here, I asked where his parents were. He eventually told me that neither his father, nor Aimee's, are involved in their lives. He said his mother was working."

"So, 'Santa' talked to Aimee and read her some stories." At this, he gave the little girl a smile and she shyly smiled back. "I did ask Josh if I could at least call my wife, but he...."

Josh interrupted here. "I'm really sorry. I felt bad about that, but I didn't want anyone tracing my phone." He looked at Hathaway then, as though trying to make him understand. "We don't have a landline and I hid my phone in my special secret place so I knew he couldn't find it. I'm sorry about making his wife worry. I really am."

"I know that I could have gone next door and asked to use a phone," Buckley said, "but I didn't want to leave the kids alone and, I didn't want to complicate things for the family with their neighbours. How would I explain all this? Anyway, it was only a few hours and I knew my wife would understand once she'd heard the whole story. Besides, I had no idea anyone would have contacted the police. I honestly didn't think she'd be concerned that I was a bit late getting home."

Hathaway nodded and Buckley continued. "I was going to stay until Josh's mum got home later this afternoon and explain the situation to her.

"Look, Inspectors, I don't want to see Josh get into trouble for this. He may have made a very poor decision, but he was only trying to help his sister. There was no harm intended. If I say that I came willingly, then that would be the end of it, wouldn't it?"

Lewis and Hathaway looked at each other and Lizzie could just about interpret the silent conversation that was taking place. She was confident that they would see to it that Josh wasn't charged. Still, they weren't going to give anything away just yet. Josh needed to understand the gravity of what he'd done. 

It was her boss who answered. "I'm afraid it's not as simple as that. There's CCTV footage of the boys putting you in the van. We'll need to take statements from everyone involved and there will have to be an official record of what happened."

Buckley nodded his understanding and Hathaway stood, signaling an end to the interview. "Mr. Buckley, we've got someone waiting outside to take you home and your wife's been notified that you're on your way. We'll need you to stop by the station on Monday to give a full statement of your version of this morning's events."

Josh looked suitably remorseful. "I'm really sorry, Mr. Buckley. I realise now what a stupid thing it was to do, and I wish I could take it back. I just wanted Aimee to have a chance to meet Santa and maybe talk to him." 

"I know, Josh. I understand that you were trying to help Aimee and I'll do what I can to help get this sorted for you, but I hope you've learned a lesson here." 

Buckley stood and walked over to Josh and Aimee, squatting down so that he was on Aimee's level. "Aimee, Santa has to go now."

Aimee shook her head 'no' and buried her face against Josh, who held her close. 

"I enjoyed spending time with you. Santa knows you've been a very good girl this year. Maybe I'll see you again next Christmas. Would you like that? 

This time Aimee looked at him shyly and spoke softly. "Yes, Santa." 

"Good." Buckley smiled warmly at the child as he stood. 

As they headed for the door, Lewis handed Josh one of his cards. "Josh, we're going to need to speak with your mum right away, so you're going to have to tell her what's happened. And we're going to need the names of the other boys involved as well."

"I understand. I'm really sorry, Coach."

Lewis reached out and put his hand on Josh's shoulder briefly. "I know you are, son. Make sure your mum gives us a ring, yeah?" Josh nodded solemnly as he opened the door for them. 

Hathaway spoke to Josh one more time as a uniformed officer stepped inside. "Josh, this is Constable Harrison. She's going to stay with you until your mum's home."

As they walked outside, Lizzie was surprised to see that snow had begun to fall. It was the lovely, soft, glistening kind, and it was starting to pile up on the trees and pavements. It wouldn't last, of course, but it seemed somehow appropriate today. 

She was that relieved that the case had been quickly resolved and that no one had been hurt. And she knew that Lewis and Hathaway would do everything they could to keep this off Josh's record. It had turned out to be a good day, which was unexpected given the way it had started. 

Mr. Buckley stopped to speak to them before he got into the police car. "Look, I'm sure you don't want to see Josh charged for this any more than I do. He made a mistake, but he's not much more than a child himself, and he was clearly motivated by a desire to help his sister. For what it's worth, I'd be willing to speak with some contacts at organisations I'm involved with to see if I can get some follow-up help organised for the family. Provided Mrs. Martin is interested, of course." 

"That's extremely kind of you, Mr. Buckley," Hathaway said to him. "Especially given the circumstances." 

As the three of them headed to Lewis's car, they were all unusually quiet. Lewis was the first to speak as he pulled away from the kerb. "We'll have to give Innocent a full report, but I think that once she's heard all the details, she'll back us up on not pressing charges."

Hathaway nodded. "It's not exactly your typical kidnapping is it? Once we get everyone's statements, we should be able to wrap it all up fairly quickly." 

When they arrived back at the station, Lewis and Hathaway briefed Innocent while Lizzie began the paperwork that would be needed before Monday's interviews could take place. 

Josh's mum had called Lewis and, though she was upset and furious with Josh, he had managed to calm her down by the end of the conversation. A time was arranged when she and Josh would come to the station on Monday.

Lizzie was preparing to start on the next report when Hathaway leaned over her, saved her work, and turned her computer off. "We got called in on a Saturday and we managed to solve the case in less than five hours. We've done what had to be done today and Monday will be another long day, so I'd say we've all earned an early Christmas drink, don't you agree, Robbie?"

"I do, indeed." Lewis smiled at Lizzie as he picked up her coat and held it for her as she slipped her arms into the sleeves.

She smiled up at both of them as they all made their way out the door.

 

****

 

The White Horse was moderately crowded, but James and Lizzie managed to find a table by the fire while Lewis got the first round in. Though things would still be unresolved until all the involved parties were interviewed, it seemed likely to Lizzie that no action would be taken against Josh and at worst, he would be issued an official caution. 

Josh's situation brought back memories of her own childhood. She remembered all too well what it was like to be left in charge of younger siblings when she was far too young herself to always make smart decisions. But they had all survived and Josh and Aimee would too. She looked up to see Lewis heading towards them, smiling as he got close.

"Right," Lewis said as he arrived with the drinks. "Here's to a surprising, but better than expected, outcome to this case." 

They all raised their glasses in a toast and drank, Hathaway taking an extra large sip of his beer. He was thoughtful for a moment before he spoke. "You know, Josh and his friends were incredibly lucky that they targeted Alan Buckley. Not only was he extremely understanding about it all, but his professional background provided him some insight into how to interact with the boys, and Aimee. What are the odds that they would randomly target a Santa who works with children every day?" 

"Aye, and not only that," Lewis interjected, shaking his head in wonder, "how likely is it that I would recognise one of those lads? It's not like I know that many young lads."

Lizzie grinned. "Gives me goose flesh, it does. It's like a little Christmas miracle." She suddenly remembered that she had heard vague rumours that Hathaway had studied to be a priest before becoming a cop. Did he believe in miracles? If a person was ever going to, this was the time of year for it.

As she suspected, both Lewis and Hathaway were already talking as though no charges would be brought against Josh. Apparently Innocent had agreed with their decision. Still, she knew that her bosses would do what they could to put a bit of fear into each of the boys and give Mrs. Martin a talking to about putting too much responsibility on a thirteen-year-old.

"It sounds like Buckley will do what he can to try to get the family some support from some of the other agencies he's involved with, and given the circumstances, I'd say that's beyond generous," Lewis reflected. "Reckon there really is a Santa Claus, in spirit at least."

"It's lovely, that," Lizzie said. "It's what Christmas is all about, isn't it?" She reached for her wine glass, only to discover it was empty. Hathaway immediately rose to get the next round in. 

While he was gone, she had something that she wanted to say to Lewis, and one glass of wine made it easier. "Sir, I don't think I've ever properly thanked you for helping to smooth things between me and Inspector Hathaway. I realise now that it would have been a mistake for me to transfer. He may be a bit of a mystery, but he's brilliant at his job and I've learnt so much from him already."

Lewis laughed. "He's not your typical copper, that's for sure. He's always been a bit of an awkward sod, but yeah, he _is_ brilliant. He's also honourable, compassionate, and fiercely loyal. You could do a lot worse in a DI."

She watched with interest as Lewis's eyes sought out Hathaway as he stood at the bar and she wondered, once again, about the connection between these two men. It was none of her business, of course, and she did think that Lewis and Dr. Hobson were lovely together. Still she couldn't help thinking that these two not only belonged together, but they completed each other somehow.

Hathaway returned with the drinks and she felt herself blush slightly, even though they couldn't possible know that she had, once more, been engaging in too-personal thoughts about them. As he handed her her drink, she gave him a genuine smile. "Thank you, sir." She raised her glass to him once he was seated. "Cheers." They all clinked glasses once more. 

"You know," she continued, focusing back on the case, "Josh's situation reminds me a bit of my family." It wasn't like her to share things about her life, but today had hit close to home. "I was left in charge of my brother and sister far too often. My little brother was also slow to talk, but once he started, we couldn't shut him up.' She smiled. "Drove us all mad." She took a sip of her wine and added, "He's a solicitor now."

Hathaway chuckled and Lewis smirked at her as he said, "I reckon our James, here, talked well ahead of the rest of us average types. Probably came out of the womb spouting Keats or bloody Shakespeare. And by the age of one he was telling anyone who'd listen that 'pictures are hung and people are hanged.'' Lewis was full-on grinning now as he turned and winked at Lizzie.

Hathaway was giving Lewis that closed-lipped, crooked grin that, for him, passed as a genuine smile. 

"We've been blessed, Inspector Lewis, with a language that allows us great specificity and precision in expressing our thoughts. Nothing wrong with taking full advantage of it." He paused and then added, "The March Hare said to Alice, 'Say what you mean,' to which Alice replied, 'I do, at least I mean what I say.' 'Not the same thing at all,' said the Hatter. 'You might just as well say that 'I see what I eat' is the same thing as 'I eat what I see.'"

Lizzie was now rolling her eyes and shaking her head at the two of them.

"Smartarse." Lewis turned back to look at Hathaway as he took a sip of his beer. And, suddenly, as their eyes met over their pint glasses, there was _that look_ between them once more. 

She gave them both a fond smile as she raised her glass in a final toast for the evening. "Happy Christmas, sirs."


End file.
